A federal jury has awarded $40 million to a survivor of sex trafficking who was repeatedly sexually exploited at a Georgia hotel when she was just 16 years old. The verdict marks a significant milestone in holding hotels accountable under a federal anti-trafficking law.
The survivor, identified in court only as J.G., received $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. The decision was against Northbrook Industries, Inc., the owner of the hotel where the abuse took place.
Hotel blamed for putting “profits over people”
According to her attorneys, J.G. was trafficked at the hotel between 2018 and 2019. Over just 40 days, she was exploited more than 200 times, often in plain view of hotel staff. As reported by The Independent, dozens of men came and went from her room daily. Still, the hotel failed to intervene, despite obvious signs of criminal activity.
The lawsuit stated that hotel staff ignored blatant warning signs. Most concerningly, an alert from law enforcement identifying J.G. as a missing minor. Instead of acting to protect her, employees allegedly turned a blind eye as the exploitation continued.
J.G.’s attorney, Patrick McDonough, accused the hotel of prioritizing profit over basic human safety. He states:
“Punitive damages aren’t just a message to this hotel; punitive damages are a message and a statement to the hospitality industry. What it says is, if you’re going to run one of these hotels, you need to do your due diligence.”
“There’s a lot of great people that run great hotels and who do the right thing… it’s just there’s certain places out there that decide they’re going to put profits over people and in this case, over children.”
The first jury verdict under federal trafficking law
During the trial, jurors heard directly from J.G., who is now in her 20s. She described the repeated physical violence and emotional abuse she endured while being trafficked. Her testimony also detailed the long-lasting psychological scars she still carries from the ordeal.
Jurors also learned how hotel staff ignored a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) alert circulated by law enforcement that included J.G.’s name, age, and photo.
“You’ve got to train your staff that you don’t sell condoms to 16-year-olds when they come up to the front desk,” McDonough said during the trial. “You need to verify, does this look right, that there’s kids in this room by themselves and 20 men have gone in and out every 30 minutes.”
This case is the first in the country to reach a jury verdict under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). The TVPRA allows trafficking survivors to seek damages not only from traffickers but also from third parties. This includes hotels that knowingly benefit financially from trafficking.
In addition to the federal claim, J.G. also sued under Georgia negligence laws, arguing that the hotel failed to keep its premises safe or respond to repeated warning signs.
A known trafficking hotspot
A DeKalb County vice detective testified that the United Inn & Suites was one of the top five commercial sex trafficking locations in the county at the time J.G. was abused. Despite this reputation, the lawsuit claimed that hotel management failed to train staff or enforce even basic safeguards to stop trafficking.
Defense attorneys for Northbrook Industries denied any wrongdoing, claiming staff did not know what was happening. But the jury ultimately found the hotel operator responsible for allowing the exploitation to occur under its roof.
Learn more about trafficking for sexual exploitation, the importance of spotting the signs of trafficking, and how to build resilience against it.
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